TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday he rejected a call from U.S. President Donald Trump to declare a cease-fire and halt Turkey’s military offensive in northeastern Syria.

Erdogan said: “They say ‘declare a cease-fire.’ We could never declare a ceasefire.”

Turkey’s leader also told a group of journalists that he is not concerned about the presence of Syrian government troops moving into the city of Manbij, but does not want Syrian Kurdish fighters to remain.

Turkey launched its military offensive a week ago to clear a border region from Syrian Kurdish forces linked to outlawed Kurdish militants in Turkey. Erdogan said that “we cannot declare a cease-fire until we clear this region.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the situation in northern Syria with Erdogan.

The Kremlin said that during Tuesday’s talk, the leaders “noted the need to prevent conflicts between Turkish army units and Syrian government forces” and also confirmed their “adherence to Syria’s territorial integrity.”

The Syrian army has moved north under a deal with the Kurds, who have sought protection from the Turkish offensive that followed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the area. The Russian military has moved in to act as a buffer between the Syrian and Turkish armies.

The Kremlin said Putin warned that the Islamic State militants in Kurdish custody mustn’t be allowed to flee. It said Erdogan accepted an invitation to visit Russia “in the nearest days.”

Russia’s defense minister also had a phone call with his U.S. counterpart to discuss the developments in Syria.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has spoken to U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper to discuss “issues of mutual interest in the context of the situation in Syria,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a terse statement. (SD-Agencies)